When spectators look skyward on the Fourth to catch the fireworks display over San Diego Bay, they’ll likely be cheering right along with local waterfront hotels, restaurants and other hospitality businesses that reap large financial rewards from the annual spectacle.

Locals, as well as out-of-town visitors, have booked rooms in high rise properties to catch the best view, restaurants long ago stopped taking reservations for their best tables, and hundreds of people will be out on the harbor on special Fourth of July cruises for the Big Bay Boom. Some believe the 18-minute show will be an even bigger draw this year given last year’s “premature ignition” incident in which thousands of fireworks exploded all at once.

“We would not have filled our rooms last year without the fireworks,” said Scott Hermes, general manager of the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina. “And because the holiday’s on a Thursday this year, people will make a three-day stay out of it. The organizers asked us in the past to do a survey of our guests checking in, asking whether the fireworks impacted their decision to stay in San Diego. It surprised me how many who said absolutely, it did.”

That survey, taken in 2011, showed that of the hotel guests responding to the question, “Did you come to San Diego to watch the fireworks show?” 80 percent said yes.

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Without a fireworks display to entice people to come to the waterfront, the Manchester Grand Hyatt’s 1,625 rooms would likely be half full on the holiday, according to Managing Director John Shafer. Early on, the hotel’s bookings for Thursday were ahead of last year’s pace, and it’s expected to be full that night, as are the Bayfront Hilton San Diego, the Marriott Marquis & Marina and the Sheraton on Harbor Island.

Hoping to take advantage of a captive audience, several of the hotels plan to maximize their food and beverage sales with special offerings. The Hilton and Sheraton are planning barbecues, as is the Andaz San Diego, which for the first time has organized a rooftop viewing party to fete Fourth of July revelers. The bayfront Marriott’s restaurants will be full, so this year it will also open its Coronado deck for desserts and drinks for up to 400 people.

The waterfront businesses in the area say they gladly contribute toward the expense of the $400,000 fireworks show, recognizing the economic benefit they get.

“We say yes without hesitation every year,” said Donovan Henson, area director of sales and marketing for the Hiltons of San Diego. “We do have people who will pay premium for suites for panoramic views on the northwest corner of the hotel. It’s as big for San Diego as the Fourth of July parade is for Coronado and we’re one of the larger port tenants and we absolutely embrace it.”

A big draw each year for those who want to watch fireworks is the USS Midway Museum, which throws a family-style party for 3,500 that includes live entertainment and games for the children. The event sells out each year, says McGaugh.

“This isn’t a significant moneymaking event for us because of our expenses,” he said. “We hire the band and get the jumphouses. We always wanted to create a July 4 tradition on the Midway, so it was never intended to be a large profit center.”

The holiday, though, is a moneymaker for Hornblower Cruises, which has four boats going out on the bay, filled with 1,200 passengers.

“The port tenants put their own money into this because there really is a big value to getting people to come down to the waterfront,” said Jim Unger, vice president of Hornblower.

As much as waterside restaurants welcome the Fourth of July business, the fireworks can have the effect of slowing the turnover of tables as guests linger so they can catch the show.

That tends to be the case with Island Prime, with its prime views on Harbor Island.

“In the summertime we have a two-hour wait anyway,” said Executive Chef Deborah Scott. “On the Fourth, they’re there for the evening. It probably cuts down business by at least 100 covers.”

Restaurateur Larry Baumann said his dining spots on Shelter and Harbor islands will definitely be full of fireworks spectators, although he has to limit the number of diners at his Bali Hai restaurant because there isn’t enough parking, given all the people who will be flocking to Shelter Island.

But that’s better than the alternative.

“Before we had fireworks on the bay, Shelter Island was a great spot to picnic all day but at 6:30 everyone would leave to go elsewhere to see the fireworks shows,” said Baumann, who also owns Tom Ham’s Lighthouse with his wife, Susie. “It was a night we often felt like not even staying open, but once the fireworks started, the demand, of course, for window tables became phenomenal.”